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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27377170">Soliloquy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cavalierious/pseuds/Cavalierious'>Cavalierious</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Just Annette and her Flowers, Post-Time Skip, slight angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:06:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27377170</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cavalierious/pseuds/Cavalierious</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Annette won’t surrender, despite her tiredness, despite the circles under her eyes and the ache in her bones. Always so weary, but always alert.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Soliloquy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I think that Annette is way more interesting than people give her credit for.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Monastery is crumbling and with it, everyone’s resolve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annette refuses to give in, to feel like there’s nothing left to strive for, even when everything seems so bleak. War leeches life from you. War bleaches the world a muted grey, cold, and unrelenting and lifeless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They won’t win, people whisper. Annette hears them as she floats through the halls. Hardened soldiers who are used to war, grizzled with experience. They’ve seen this song and dance before, they say. There comes a point where you surrender, they insist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annette won’t surrender, despite her tiredness, despite the circles under her eyes and the ache in her bones. Always so weary, but always alert. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never know when they’ll strike,” says Felix frequently. It’s a mantra of his, almost like he’s trying to convince himself that he’s not crazy for thinking it. “You never know, so you always need to be ready.” Felix is the kind of man who titters with nervous and angry energy. He’s distrustful and only counts on himself. It’s probably what’s kept him alive over the years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annette likes to think that she’s on her toes. Maybe it’s in a different way, but she forces a pep into her step because if she doesn’t, all she does is think about the </span>
  <em>
    <span>ifs</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>ors</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so, Annette is in the greenhouse that day, fingers ghosting over the soft and velvety petals of her beloved Sunflowers as she thinks of the good instead of the bad. Brilliant yellow flora that’s bright under her touch against the stark ruins of Garreg Mach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Some people think that it’s a waste to spend time here, to try and bring beauty back to the Monastery. Annette needs a distraction to pull her thoughts away from the worst of it all, and to push her forward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It turns out that a better future isn’t always enough to want to keep going, as terrible as it sounds. Annette is as tired as everyone else is, and there are plenty of days where she wishes that it would just end. Even if the outcome won’t be any good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But here, in this garden, she can let her mind wander as she waters and sings to her plants, her children, her family. It’s only a half-tune with nonsensical words, but it fills her with a much needed calm, as Annette projects all of her love into the soil and the roots of these beautiful flowers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unlike her, they aren’t wilted. Unlike their company, they defy all odds and remain grounded and firm. Annette wonders if they might have a chance if she sings her love into those around her instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She supposes that maybe it’s worth a try. Above all, Annette is optimistic because if she isn’t, who will be? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll win,” she whispers into a sunflower like it’s a secret. “If there’s anything that we’re good at, it’s defying the odds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just like the little garden that is spread before her. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/_Cavalierious_">Twitter!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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